Indiana high court to review lethal injection drug issue

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) - The Indiana Supreme Court has agreed to review an appeals court ruling which found that the state cannot execute prisoners with a previously unused three-drug combination.

A man sentenced to death for the 2001 rape and murder of a 15-year-old girl contends that correction officials cannot alter Indiana's lethal execution protocol without submitting the proposed change for public review and comment.

The Indiana Court of Appeals agreed in a June ruling that effectively halted lethal executions in Indiana.

The (Northwest Indiana) Times reports the state Supreme Court's decision to grant transfer in the case vacates the appellate court ruling. The high court will now review the case, hear arguments and issue a decision.

Thirteen people are currently on Indiana's death row. The state hasn't executed an inmate since December 2009.

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Information from: The Times, http://www.nwitimes.com